Die for forging fork-headed rods.



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I Y vir, 715,31.- y@ g-)Bt- UNITED `STATI-3s PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM L. JONES, OF ARLINGTON, NEW JERSEY. ASSIGNOR TO HENRY JOHNSON, OF RAHWAY, NEW JERSEY.

DIE FOR FORGING FORK-HEADED RODS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 661,014, dated October 30, 1900.

Application filed October 7, 1898. Serial No. 692,880. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern);

Be it known that I, WILLIAM L. JONES, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Ar- `fork-headed rods-rthat is, rods that are furnished with jaws or a forked head, such as may be applied to any ordinary coupling-rod and that more especially in the railroad signal-manufacturing shops are used under the name of switch-rods. As one of the main points in my invention consists of furnishing these fork-heads with inside bosses, it will be readily understood that in any department of the machine trade where such fork-heads or jaws having inside bosses can be used any manufacture of such fork-heads by means of my improved dies and the process connected therewith will be -an infringement on my rights.

The dies which form the mechanical means of my invention are, like all ordinary dies, composed of an upper and an under die, each appropriately secured in a press, drop, or steam hammer.

The improvements in the coupling-rods obtained by the use of my improved dies and that form the object of myinvention reside mainly in three important facts. First, I manufacture the entire rod' in one heat, as against the rods hitherto produced by pressdies, requiring no less than three heats and frequently more, the application ot' these frequent heats, asis well known, weakening the metal; secondly, I place the bosses required on such rods on the inside of the jaws instead of, as hitherto done, on the outside, which enables the rod, in whatever capacity it may be used, to pivot closer to its companion link; thirdly, I am enabled by my improved dies to manufacture the bottom or throat of the jaws round instead of pointed, thus preventing the catching of the companion rod by the acuteangled jaws as they are manufactured at the present date and giving more strength to the throat of the jaw by the additional material gained at the point where the fork joins the main body'ot' the rod. I might here call attention to Letters Patent No. 501,851, of July 18, 1893. as a proof of what my invention. has accomplished in the improvelnentof these fork-heads orjaws by requestinga comparison between the jaws shown in Figure 14 of the drawings of said patent and the jaws as manufactured by me shown in my drawings, Figs. Finally, I embody a device for lengthening or shortening the rods when used as switch-rods, according tothe standard length of said rods as adopted by the different railroads, which will be described more fully in the ensuing description.

In proceeding to describe my invention containing the above-stated improvements I shall refer to the accompanying drawings, where like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different views.

Fig. l shows a top view of one of the dies, and as the other die is an exact counterpart of its companion die it will be suflcient to illustrate only one. Fig. 2 is a side view of Fig. 1 with a part broken oi according to a line X X through the 'finishing-matrix B3 in Fig. 1. of the die on the line Y Y, Figs. l and 2. Fig. 4 is a sectional side view through the broken line Z Z of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a sectional end View of the matrix B2 through the line V V in Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 6 is a sectional end view of the matrix B3 looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 7

Ais a sectional end view of the matrix B looking similarly, as in the two former cases, in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 8is an end View of the mandrel litted in between the jaws as used in the finishing process in matrix B3. Fig. 9 is a side view of Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is an end View of the finished rod as manufactured by my improved dies, the upper half representing an ordinary ja'w or fork-head, which can,`

as before stated, be applied to any suitable purpose, the lower part when taken together with the upper making a complete switch-rod; and, nally, Fig. 11 is a side view of Fig. 10.

In Fig. l, A indicates either the upper or Fig. 3 is a section through the end IOO the under die, the two halves being, as before stated, exactly alike in construction.

B', 2, and B2 indicate, respectively, the splitting, the ronghing, and the finishing matrices for the switch-rod during its prot-ess of manufacture.

In B, where the splitting process takes place, C indicates the part which cleaves the rod into the two prongs or jaws Gr and G2, and it is to that effect V-shaped in section, as seen in Fig. 7. C is the flat bottom surface, which gives shape to the individual prongs on cach side of the cleaving part C. C2 and C3 are the semicircular cavities that form the inside bosses, and C is the bed running longitudinally throughout the entire length of the die, Vshaped, with a rounded bottom, as shown in Fig. 3, which gives the rod the primary rough angular form, which in the second matrix B2 becomes circular and additionally receives its tang-end shape. C5 is a narrow ledge which borders the entire matrix to receive the supertiuous metal t-hat might be squeezed out at the sides between the upper and lower dies.

The second step in the process, which I call the roughing process, is performed in the matrix B2, in which D indicates the part that separates the prongs of the fork and which acts in the same capacity as did formerly the part C in B. The shape 0f part D is, however, changed from being V-shaped in section to the square form, as shown in the sectional view in Fig. 5, giving thus the perfect form to the prongs as they are seen in Fig. l0. D indicates here, as in the instance of C in B, the bottom surface of the die for the prongs D2, and D3 the setnicircul'ar cavities for the formation of the inside bosses. D4 indicates the semicircular bed running longitudinally through the die, corresponding to C4 in B, with this difference, however, that it does not run throughout the entire length, but stops at D6, which is a semicircular bed of smaller diameter than D",which forms what t. is technically known as the tang end 0f the switch-rod.

For the purpose of getting rid of the super- Iiuous metal that has been squeezed out at the sides of the matrices B and B2 in t-he ledges C5 and D5 an ordinary trimming-die, such as is used in connection with all dropforgings, is utilized before passing the rod into the finishing-matrix B3.

The last step in forming the rod is performed in the matrix B3, where the finishing process takes place. In this instance the rod is turned on its side, as illustrated in Fig. 11, and in order to keep the prongs apart and smooth on the interior of t-he jaws a mandrel F isiuserted between the prongs previous to the rod being laid in the matrix B2 and stamped. H indicates here the bottom surface of a bed receivingthe lower prong G', for instance, said surface being at right angles with the sides of the bed H, the flat surface on which partly rests the surface F of the mandrel F,

the said part of the mandrel to that effect being depressed as compared with its other' part. havinLr the surface F2, and the surface H being raised correspondingly and as compared with the surface H2, said surface H2 receiving consequently the surface F2, as indicated, H2 is the semicircular longitudinal bed corresponding to D4iu B2, and H4 is the similarlysemicircular bed, but of smaller diameter than H2, that finishes the tang end of the switch-rod. vIt now remains to show how the above-described dies A can be made adjustable, so as to be able to form any switch-rod to a given standard length. This I accomplish by making the end of the die a separate part by itself.

In Fig. 2, I indicates a piece which can be inserted in the main body .A of the dies and held there by a wedge K. As readily seen in the sectional view of Fig. 2, the sides L and M 0f the part I are oblique, so that when the wedge K is inserted the part I will be held immovably to the main body of the die. It will consequently be very apparent that the tang end (marked N) can be moved any suitable distance to and from the fork-head, all according to the part I that may be used, meaning thereby that the distance O, as indicated in Figs. l and `11, can be varied with any change of the-adjustable end piece I, ac-

cot-ding to the lengths of tang-end beds D6 and H4 in the dies.

That various minor mechanical details in the three different steps of this process as relating to the matrices may be altered, so as to makeit more perfect, is self-evident, the main points, however, of `performing this entire process in one single heat by the three hereindescribed graduated steps and being capable of altering the length of the switch-rod accord ing to any desired standard length remaining constant unvarying features. As was pointed out in my preamble, the formation of these jaws with inside bosses will undoubtedly be found very practical in several branches of the machine trade, inasmuch as the manufacture of these jaws by steam-presses instead of by hand will naturally reduce them vastly in cost, involving the same process of one single heat and three grad uated matrices, but with shorter dies, forming only the jaws or fork-heads, and such manufacture as the latter I shall consider an infringement on my rights, for- What I claim, and desire to secure protection for by Letters Patent, is-

l. As a new article for the manufacture of fork-heads With inside bosses, a pair of horizontally-operated equivalent die parts, each part having a splitting, roughing and finishing matrix substantially as they are illustrated and described, forming the said inside bosses on the fork-heads in one heat.

2. In the manufacture of.forkheaded rods having tang ends, the fork-heads having inside bosses, the combination of an upper and lower die transversely recessed to receive the detachable, interchangeable taug-end-forming sections of the dies substantially as set forth and described.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a pair of horizontal dies having three graded inatrices for forming fork-headed rods with inside bosses, said dies being` transversely recessed to receive the detachable, interchangeable tang-end-forming sections of the dies, substantially as set forth and described.

4. In the manufacture of fork-headed rods, the combination of an upper and lowerdie, each die having a splitting, roughing and finishing matrix, said dies being transversely recessed to'v receive the detachable interchangeable tang-end-forming sections of the dies, substantially as set forth and described.

5. In the manufacture of forkheaded rods having fork-heads with inside bosses, the combination of an upper and lower die, a splitting-matrix forming part of each upper and lower die, having a V-shaped cleavingstump, two semicircular-shaped cavities adjacent to and iudenting the cleaving-stump, a continuous V-shaped bed merging into the bed for forming the prongs of the fork, a

roughing and nishing matrix formed in said upper and lower dies substantially as described.

6. In the manufacture of fork-heads or jaws having inside bosses, the combination of upper and lower equivalent die parts, each die having a splitting, roughing and nishing horizontal matrix, and a recessed mandrel to be inserted between the jaws in the finishing-matrix for the purpose as specified substantially as described.

7. In the manufacture of fork-headed rods,

8. In the manufacture of fork-headed rods the combination of an upper and lower die, each die having a splitting-matrix, a roughing-matrix, a uishing-matrix having a rightangled bed conforming to the shape of the fork-prongs, two surfaces cut in the face of the dies embracing the bed of the prongs of the fork, and a `mandrel inserted between the prongs of the fork-head so as to rest on said surfaces substantially asand for the purposes described.

9. The combination of an upper vand lower die, a splitting, roughing and finishing matrix formed in each die, an inside boss-shaping mandrel to be inserted between the prongs of the fork-head in the finishing-matrix during the process of forging, a detachable iuterchangeable tang-end-forming section adjust-ably secured in the upper and lower die,

trimmingsurfaces furnished around each matrix substantially as it is illustrated and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 21st day of September, A. D. 1898.

WILLIAM L. JONES. Witnesses:

ALFRED B. VAN LIEw, AUGUST M. TREsoHow. 

